Harvard extension school ---> med school acceptances

nona1 said:

For those of you who are attending/have attended Harvard as a post-bacc or extension student, where have you been accepted? Where do you think you will be matriculating in the fall?

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i went to harvard undergrad but did a bunch of post-bacc classes (orgo, physics and biochem) at the extension school. i'll be going to HMS in the fall. so, it worked for me.

So, you graduated and then did a post bacc program and THEN got into HMS?

vivek311r said:

So, you graduated and then did a post bacc program and THEN got into HMS?

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i didn't do a program since i'd done some of my pre-med requirements already. so, i just took some classes. I can't speak about the postbacc program/advising system at the extension school though since i used harvard ungrad advising.

nona1 said:

For those of you who are attending/have attended Harvard as a post-bacc or extension student, where have you been accepted? Where do you think you will be matriculating in the fall?

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Post-bac programs tend to keep track of this sort of thing -- I imagine if you contacted the health careers program they could probably give you a list of where their sponsored people matriculated.

I graduated from columbia and then did the harvard post-bacc and so far, I am going to duke. So it worked for me, too. I considered many of the popular programs out there, so feel free to PM me with any specific questions or to see my mdapplicants.
good luck

I finished HES's Health Careers program last spring and couldn't have been more pleased. To date, I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to Harvard, Hopkins, Cornell, Northwestern, and Stanford. The program is perfect for people who want to work during the day (research, clinical, etc.) and not go broke. Plus, they write really nice letters. Owen actually sounded personally insulted when I told him that I didn't get into UCSF. But alas, not from sunny Cali.

nona- you are right... the HCP at Harvard Extension does not give out this information. Many other programs do give out % accepted to med school stats.

BTW, I took the august mcat.

nona1 said:

Also, did any of you all apply late- like after the Aug MCAT, apps completed b/w october and dec? Or did everyone apply 6/1 w/April MCAT. Just wondering how much of a difference this makes.

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I did the Health Careers Program at Harvard Extension and am choosing between University of Chicago and University of Pittsburgh. Everyone in my study group from school has been accepted to a competitive med school program. One of these people applied very late to schools and is now choosing between several top 20 programs.

As someone mentioned, a lot of people in the extension school program have interesting backgrounds. People like TwiceTenTurns blow us away sometimes, but that just makes the student body that much more interesting. Half of the people in my study group went to ivy undergrads. *But* the other half of my study group attended state schools. The program definitely is perceived well by ADCOM's. I think it was an excellent excellent value and am ecstatic with where it got me. The advising was great and, in my opinion, the classes were very well taught and very well organized.

ads99 said:

I did the Health Careers Program at Harvard Extension and am choosing between University of Chicago and University of Pittsburgh. Everyone in my study group from school has been accepted to a competitive med school program. One of these people applied very late to schools and is now choosing between several top 20 programs.

As someone mentioned, a lot of people in the extension school program have interesting backgrounds. People like TwiceTenTurns blow us away sometimes, but that just makes the student body that much more interesting. Half of the people in my study group went to ivy undergrads. *But* the other half of my study group attended state schools. The program definitely is perceived well by ADCOM's. I think it was an excellent excellent value and am ecstatic with where it got me. The advising was great and, in my opinion, the classes were very well taught and very well organized.

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One must also take into consideration that the students at HES are some of the coolest people I have ever met. (particularly ads99 Congrats on Pitt btw) Bright people with whom to both study and grab beers after class.

Does anyone know if medical schools take into consideration your post-bac grades over your undergrad? I majored in medical laboratory science for undergrad and I was interested in the harvard extension program to further "prove" myself in lieu of my undergrad--I didn't have my head straight in my early college years! let me know... thx

I went to a liberal arts college with no grades for undergrad, then did an MPH with grades (good ones ), then finished and/or retook my pre-reqs through HES HCP. I was sponsored and applied through the HCP. I have been accepted to BU, UAB, U Miami, U Maryland and USA. I was on hold at AECOM and UF, but dropped off the hold list. I'll be attending UAB. HES is a great opportunity and I highly recommend it.

What are the specific admissions to be accepted into HES?

I thought the only requirement is that you possess an undergrad bacc. degree. Is this so? Does this mean that a person from a State school, graduating with a cumulative 2.7 gpa (like myself) has an equal chance of getting in than a newly graduating Ivy League student with a 3.4 gpa?

I truly hope to attend the program in the fall of 09...

HES is open enrollment. A Bachelor's, a pulse and a checkbook will get you into whatever classes you need to take. Sponsorship by the HCP is a different story. Here is the link that explains how it works: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2006-07/programs/hcp/sponsor/. Based on a 2.7GPA, it looks like you would have to complete 32 credits with a B or better and get over a 30 on the MCAT.

I'm starting my pre-reqs through the HCP this summer, hoping to follow in the very impressive footsteps of the posters above.

what do you mean by "open enrollment?" does that mean that as long as i have money (which i guess i do), a bachelor's degree from a state school (will in august from U.N.M), and a fair gpa (3.3) that i can just get into HCP? What about competitiveness, and the amount of people allowed in the program?

Courses at Harvard Extension School are open enrollment (degree? pulse? checkbook? Welcome to HES.). That includes the classes that students admitted to the Health Careers Program take. HCP offers sponsorship (advising, committee letter, etc) to those students they admit who achieve certain benchmarks. The requirements for sponsorship vary depending on undergraduate record, I put the link to the program's website that explains the requirements in my post above. Again, the courses are open enrollment, so competitiveness for admission is not really a factor, I believe they decide whether or not to admit candidates based on whether they have a shot at med school, not based on a fixed number of slots. Check out Sundarban1's post on the Official Harvard forum too. Good explanation and advice.

thank you very much LBoston for your advice!

I was wondering, with a degree in Medical Laboratory Science, a multitude of different leadership activities and positions held, and work experience as a clinical laboratory scientist, if I were to do extremely well in HES (~3.8 GPA) and well on the MCATs, would medical schools place lesser regards on my undergrad academic standing (overall cum. 2.9 / sciece GPA 3.3) and how would this effect my ability to get into medical school? thx...

How tough are the classes at HES? The lectures have 300, 400 people, right? Were you able to get help/tutoring if you needed it?

Also, does the scheduling work out such that you can complete the necessary courses in two years (eg, classes that you needed to take weren't scheduled simultaneously, correct?)

thanks!

The coursework is really demanding. You're going to be required to know a ton, and not just regurgitate it, but to apply it to new situations and presentations on exams. It's really pretty fair for the most part though; all the professors give you practice/old exams to study from so you'll be familiar with the structure and timing before you take the real thing.

That said, bio is absolutely brutal. Fixsen will expect you to know everything inside and out, but it was really an interesting and enjoyable course, and prepares you beautifully for the MCAT.

Mae16 said:

How tough are the classes at HES? The lectures have 300, 400 people, right? Were you able to get help/tutoring if you needed it?

Also, does the scheduling work out such that you can complete the necessary courses in two years (eg, classes that you needed to take weren't scheduled simultaneously, correct?)

thanks!

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As punkin and Lokhtar say, the courses are challenging. In my experience, they were similar to what I'd expect from taking the same class at a competitive undergrad school.

I thought the intro class sizes averaged closer to 100-200 students, rather than 300-400. But that's just a guess from glancing around lecture halls - regardless, they're your typical big intro science classes, where you'll get personal attention from your TAs ["TF"s, actually, because it's Haah-vaahd!] but you'll never speak to the professors unless you actively seek them out. But they all have office hours, so if you want them to get to know you it's definitely doable.

Tutoring/help is easy. You're assigned to discussion sections with Teaching Fellows which meet regularly - one hour a week for most courses, if I remember right. That's your first stop for review/help/etc. If you need more, the TFs and professors have office hours, and everyone seems happy to work with you as much as you want. The whole system is set up to offer you all the support you'll need. If that still isn't enough, I think there are people who offer unofficial paid tutorial services, but I don't have any experience with that. (Oh, and you should look to your classmates for help, too. People will organize study groups, or you'll just get to know the people around you and discuss stuff informally. This is a great resource. Everybody I met was friendly and in interested in collaboration - I never saw any stereotypical cutthroat premed behavior.)

For scheduling, yes - you can do it in two years. General Chemistry and Organic are scheduled for the same time on purpose, because gchem is a required prereq for orgo and they want to be sure you don't double up. Physics and Bio are different nights from each other and from the chems. You can take them in whichever order works for you and finish in two years, no problem.

twicetenturns said:

I finished HES's Health Careers program last spring and couldn't have been more pleased. To date, I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to Harvard, Hopkins, Cornell, Northwestern, and Stanford. The program is perfect for people who want to work during the day (research, clinical, etc.) and not go broke. Plus, they write really nice letters. Owen actually sounded personally insulted when I told him that I didn't get into UCSF. But alas, not from sunny Cali.

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hey question! Did you take biochem online at HES or in class? Biochem is only taught in class in the fall, but I'll need to take orgo I since thats only offered in the fall, any suggestions?